Phils acquire closer Estévez from Angels for pair of pitching prospects

PHILADELPHIA -- Everybody knew the Phillies would find a late-inning reliever before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline.

They believe they got one of the best on Saturday, when they acquired Angels closer Carlos Estévez for pitching prospects George Klassen (who would have been the No. 7 prospect in the Phillies’ system at MLB Pipeline’s midseason re-rank) and Samuel Aldegheri (who would have been No. 12).

Estévez, 31, is a hard-throwing right-hander who attacks hitters and fills the strike zone. He is excited to join a contender.

“It feels great,” Estévez said. “It's a great feeling. You have this adrenaline rush all the time. That feels amazing, and I'm glad that we're going to go for it. I want to experience it again. And that's something I was missing.

“I'm glad that if I'm going to another place, it's a place that I can get a shot to win a ring.”

The Phillies have not had an official closer for years, although Craig Kimbrel filled the role for much of 2023. Estévez, however, could see regular action in the ninth.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets a lot of ninth innings,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said during Saturday night’s 8-0 victory over the Guardians at Citizens Bank Park.

Estévez will be a free agent after the season, but the Phillies paid a premium because they believe he gives them the best chance to win the World Series.

“We looked at some guys with [club] control,” Dombrowski said. “It’s interesting being in our room when we had those types of conversations. The reality comes down [to], for me, we wanted the best guy to give us a chance to win this year. There might have been some guys that maybe we could’ve gotten with control, but we didn’t think they were as good pitchers to win in the postseason. We just feel that he’s the right guy.

“It’s probably a little more than you’d like to give up for a rental, but who knows? Maybe we’ll sign him once the year’s over.”

On Friday, Philadelphia acquired outfielder Austin Hays from Baltimore for right-hander Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache. The Phils can still make more moves before Tuesday’s Deadline. Dombrowski said he will consider anything that makes sense, but he did not sound like somebody who is aggressively searching for another major piece before the Deadline.

“We feel very comfortable where we are,” he said about the bullpen. “We feel like now we have three people that can pitch on the back end from the right-handed side with Estévez, [Orion] Kerkering and [Jeff] Hoffman. And from the left side, we feel comfortable with [José] Alvarado, [Matt] Strahm and [Gregory] Soto.

“There’s a long way until Tuesday night at 6 o’clock, but we feel very comfortable where we are right now.”

There have been reports that the Phillies have been looking to add to their rotation, but Dombrowski said he is comfortable with the organization’s starting pitching depth, despite Ranger Suárez joining Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull on the 15-day IL on Saturday.

Dombrowski specifically cited the recent performance from rookie Tyler Phillips, who threw a shutout Saturday, as well as the fact that Suárez’s back injury is not believed to be serious and Walker has made recent progress in his recovery from a right finger injury.

“We can hold the fort for the time being until those guys come back,” Dombrowski said. “Now again, [if] something falls in our lap in the next couple days, I’m not saying we would never do it, but it’s also a situation where we don’t feel we have to do it.”

Estévez went 1-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 20 saves with the Angels, striking out 32 and walking five in 34 innings. He has not surrendered a run in 18 consecutive appearances since May 28, allowing only five baserunners in 18 innings in that stretch.

Estévez’s four-seam fastball averages 96.4 mph, but he doesn’t spray his pitches around the plate. His 4.0 percent walk rate is tied with Strahm for the 11th-lowest among 191 relievers with 30-plus innings pitched. He has thrown 59.6 percent of his pitches in the strike zone, which is the fifth-highest zone rate among 464 pitchers who have thrown at least 300 pitches.

Manager Rob Thomson learned of the trade before the game. The Phillies’ bullpen learned about midway through.

“More power, the better, right?” Strahm said.

Hoffman played with Estévez in Colorado.

“He was excited,” Strahm said. “If Jeff’s excited, we’re all excited.”

“He’s told me he likes the vibe of the place,” Estévez said about Hoffman. “Seeing them play on TV and facing them before, they look like a really good chemistry team. And that's one really good thing to see on a team that is pushing for everything. I'm really excited about that.”